A Story About Patience
by kerrbear
Summary: Raphael has always been the hot-headed brother. When he saves a girl from a brutal attack, will this girl be able to see past his hot-headedness and into his heart? Could this girl accept him and be the girl he's been looking for? R&R is love!


Disclaimer: I do not own the ever so loved mutant turtles nor do I own any of the characters except those created inside my head. Any other characters used are the original property of Peter Laird and Mirage Studios.

**Author's Note: I have recently gotten back into the TMNT series, however I refuse to follow the "Back to the Sewers" series. I am fully aware that April and Casey are married, and that's as much as I follow. I like the original 2003 series and that's final. If any of you readers out there have a problem with that, go read something else. Thank you and enjoy for those who are remaining. **

Patience's P.O.V.

I wish I could say that I'm an everyday ordinary teenager. But if I were to tell you that, I'd just be lying to you, and I'd be lying to myself. I am _far _from being an ordinary teenager. I've spent most of my life being a punching bag and a beer bottle target amongst my two parents. I have never had anyone show any affection towards me. My own parents, who gave birth to me, would rather see me dead. Maybe that was a bit harsh to you teenagers out there who have loving families that have occasionally pissed you off, but to teenagers who know where I'm coming from, they know that what I say is _not _an exaggeration.

I'm sixteen years old. I'm an average student in school. I'm far from being considered "in". I probably have one or two close friends, and that's about as much as I need. I go to a crap-ass school whose budget is close to zero. Our class has zero school spirit, and we will probably be considered to be one of the worst classes to go through. Isn't that great? So in case you haven't noticed, my life has pretty much sucked all around. Even my school life isn't any sort of escape from the pain I go through at home.

I can't say for sure what finally made me snap: Maybe it was trying to dodge the beer bottles as I tried to get out of my parents' crossfire on my way out the door for school. Maybe it was having my books get knocked on the floor in the hall, or maybe it was being picked on in Chemistry class and getting the answer wrong. Or maybe it just had something to do with my friend Lindsey making out with her boyfriend and completely blowing me off. Whatever the case was to my day, I decided in my English Literature class fifth period that I was going to make a break for it during lunch. I was going to leave school, and never come back there _or _to my family ever again.

I live in Brooklyn, so I'm sure most of you people can see how stupid this decision was on my part. But as I said before, I'm sixteen, and I had snapped.

Of course, as I made my break for it during lunch, I didn't even consider the amount of crime rates that had been going up…Especially involving the Purple Dragons. All I wanted as out and I didn't even _consider _the danger I could be in…Walking the streets alone, even if it _was _in broad daylight.

Rumors had been going around for days at school that the Purple Dragons were looking for new recruits. And like every new recruit, they were put through a test. The new leader, Drag, seemed to have stepped up the Purple Dragons' aggression a little bit. The test for the new recruit was simple: Pick out a pretty young girl, pull her into an alley, take her for a test drive, and if she sufficed, take her back to Drag to be turned into his own personal Sex Toy. Apparently Drag had just gotten out of jail after a statutory rape. Considering what he was putting the recruits through, I couldn't really say I was surprised to hear that part.

But being a typical teenager, I figured that none of that would happen to me. After all, I didn't consider myself to be a drop-dead gorgeous babe. I had awkward legs, with my knees jutting out from the rest of my legs that were way too long. My hair was a beautiful auburn color, but it was hardly ever sleek. Most of the time it was a big frizz ball that I held back in an elastic. I had bright crystal blue eyes, but my eyes were much too small against my scarred face. Most of the time people were too distracted by my jagged scars to notice my eyes. My scars ran in long, diagonal lines in almost criss-cross patterns across my face. One scar actually jutted out of the left side of my mouth, as if I was some sort of scarecrow. Two more were cut vertically down across my lips on the right side of my mouth. I truly believed that part of the reason that I had no friends because of these cursed scars. And let's face it: I had every right to think that a gang member wouldn't grab me. I didn't even have a lot of friends because of how unattractive I was, and Drag was all about attractiveness.

Of course I left out two important key factors: One, I was female, and two, I had boobs. That was about all that these five goons needed when they grabbed me. I let out a cry as I was pulled back into the alley, cursing myself for being so stupid, and also mildly panicked by what was happening.

"Where ya goin' sweet thang?" One of the guys asked me, shoving me against the concrete wall, his neck wrapped loosely around my neck, not enough to strangle me, but enough to bruise me.

I always did have a bit of a fire in me, so I replied, "None of your damn business."

All of the guys began to hoot and whistle, and the main guy chuckled. I knew right there I had done the wrong thing. Because of the shadows of the buildings above me, I couldn't even see the faces of my attackers.

"A feisty one." The lead said. "Out boss likes feisty ones." A lot of hid buddies chuckled at this, and he pressed his palm tighter against my neck. "All's we gotta know is if you's carry the good our boss is lookin' for."

He sneered at me then, and I caught the rancid smell of his breath, and adrenaline kicked in. If I didn't do something fast, I was going to get raped. So I did what I could only think of on such short notice: I swung my right foot upwards and kicked the guy square in the balls.

Of course, like a typical guy, he let out a huff of pain and loosened his grip. I jumped over him, and began to make my way towards the entrance to they alley when two of the guys grabbed my arms, and reeled me back. I began kicking at them, and I was only kicking their shins…Not any of their knees or anything, so I couldn't bring them down.

Realizing that I was probably going to get myself killed for acting up so much, I opened up my mouth to scream at the top of my lungs, but a third guy clamped his hand over my mouth. Unfortunately for me, his hand wasn't down low enough for me to bite him.

My mind whirling, I kicked out behind me, and kicked the third guy's knee. The two guys holding me, were momentarily distracted by their fallen comrade, and loosened their grip on me to see if their friend was all right.

I made a right hook to the guy on my left, and kicked the guy with my left leg to my right, and took off.

Suddenly, I was pummeled from the side, knocked over to the ground with a loud, "Oof!" The wind was temporarily knocked out of me, and as I struggled to suck in some oxygen, my attacker grabbed my head, and slammed it against the cement, stunning me.

"Enough rough housing!" The lead barked, stumbling over to me. He cracked his knuckles, and I saw the whites of his eyes flash with what could only be described as pure evil. "Time to finish what we started."

The guys laughed, and the guy who had pummeled me clamped his hand over my mouth, while two other pinned my arms. The last one held my legs down so that I was in a star position, my legs perfectly spread out.

The guy began to lower himself down to me, and I began to struggle, flailing my legs wildly, but the more I struggled, the more force the guys put on my arms.

I screamed through the clamped mouth as the guy when about to "finish the goods" and…

Three Days Later

Raph's P.O.V.

My brother Leo had had me and my brothers working overtime on patrol. What with the Purple Dragons upping their standards on finding recruits 'n' all, my bros and I didn't give my oldest brother any crap about barely sleepin'. This new bozo—Drag—Was all ready becoming a lower pain the shell. I hated his guts for what he was doin' to young girls. For the past week we had only been able to stop four rape attacks, and we knew there had been a ton more.

It was luck of the draw that I had followed one of 'em back to their headquarters. That's not to say that I just allowed these guys to rape some poor girl. In fact, the two bozos I had found had been smoking a joint—Honestly, how can kids even think of puttin' that crap into their system?—And I had followed them from there, seein' if they went anywhere interestin'.

Sure enough, they led me right to where I wanted to go: Purple Dragon headquarters. A new place, about a mile from the docks an old abandoned warehouse of some sort. It looked like an old warehouse for tobacco or somethin'.

I thought of callin' my bros to let 'em know I knew where the Purple Dragons were bein' holed up, but considerin' how fast my adrenaline was pumpin', I decided not to bother. It wasn't like I wouldn't be able to tell them where this place was if we needed to come back.

I jumped onto the roof of the warehouse, spotted an open window and jumped down, barely makin' a sound on the linoleum floor. I scanned the area for any Dragons and saw none in sight. Seein' as this was my first time in here, I decided to look around, get familiar with my surroundings before going into anything too dangerous. I knew Leo would have my shell if I decided to bat heads with a bunch of goons, who knew the ins and outs of the buildin' when I didn't. I did decide that if I found any victims, that would just be a bonus. I'd get the victims safely out of the buildin', and come back the next night with my bros. Simple, right?

Wrong. For one, the whole building had a whole bunch o' hallways jutting off of each other, it was as bad as the damn sewers. Second was the fact that every hall I tried to investigate had some sort of Purple Dragon lurking.

Growling low in my throat, I turned down the last hallway, and found that it was surprisingly empty. There were a whole bunch of doors, and I began slowly checking each one for anythin' that might help me and my bros for an escape route. Nothin' was really any good.

I stopped on the last door on the right, and hesitated. After all, what made this door any different from the others? I wasn't going to find anything of use. I might as well just check the first floor and then head home. But it was as I was turning my back that I heard the muffled cry of a young female.

Immediately my blood pounded in my ears, and my vision tinted a dangerous shade of red, because _I _knew what that girl was cryin' about, and nothin' sickened me more than these _punks _who thought that bein' _manly _was takin' advantage of a poor innocent _girl_.

Without a second thought, I banged open the door with my foot, and immediately spotted the victim. She was tied to a chair, her mouth was gagged, a guy was standin' over her. He had a dragon tattoo on his right bicep, his right eyebrow was pierced, he had snakebites in his chin, and a hoop hangin' out o' his right nostril. He had a pocketknife in, and his fingers glittered with rings. He was dressed in a metal-toed black boots, black cargo pants, and a ripped grew t-shirt, and I was about to take him down.

I lunged at the guy, slamming him into a file cabinet, stunning the guy. I began to make various blows to his face, knowin' the various metal in his face ought to bang him up a bit more. I wanted nothin' more than to beat the livin' snot outta this guy, even though the noise I had caused had probably roused his buddies.

If it wasn't through my peripheral vision, I probably would've kept goin'. But outta the corner of my eye I could see that poor girl. I knew that if I didn't get out now, she was goin' to bleed to death because of this asshole, and I would be the one ta blame for lettin' my temper get in the way of savin' her _life_.

I swung my foot at the guy, nailin' him in the gut, and kicked the pocket knife, still slick with blood, right out of his reach. I used my sais to cut the girl free of her bonds, and untied the gag around her mouth. She gave out a soft moan, and I shushed her quickly. I took her in my arms, and jumped out the window, landing smoothly on the ground below. I knew that I couldn't take her to the hospital. I was closer to my home, and I knew Don would be there.

I took off in the direction of my home, usin' my mental connection with Don, hopin' he would be there. When I was satisfied that he was, I told him to get ready, because we had a patient.

"I can see why you wouldn't want to leave her side Raph: She's quite a cutie." My youngest brother Mike said with a chuckle.

I glowered at my brother, and he immediately shut up.

The girl had been here most of the night, and Don had been able to stop most of the bleedin'. She had several lacerations around the chest area, a stab wound in her left side, a black eye, and a large bruise on her right cheek. Her arms were covered in bruises the size of fingers, and her legs were cut up…Not to mention the cuts on the insides of her legs. That had been the hardest for Donnie…This girl had been a rape victim…And there was nothin' my brainiac brotha could do ta fix it. Not to mention that he noted some blood stains on her underwear, which meant on thing…The girl had been a virgin. Some filthy _scumbag _had taken away the most sacred thing any person could have from this girl. How low could-ya get?

I had spoken to Leo over the phone, he had been out in the middle of breakin' up another rape with Mike. He wasn't in the mood to talk to me, and when he called me back later, he wasn't too happy with the fact that there was a human under our roof.

"I was too far away from a hospital Leo, she needed attention and the lair was closa. If I had tried to make it to the hospital, she probably woulda died right in my arms."

"You could endanger the _clan _Raph. Just because she's a victim, doesn't mean she's innocent. She could attack us, or tell someone about us. You've put our family in jeopardy."

I growled low in my throat. I really hated Leo when he got like this. I couldn't blame the guy for wantin' to protect our family, after all, we were all we had, but come on. How strong could she be, considering the situation she had gotten herself into?

"I know what the consequences are Leo. I all ready told Don I'd take responsibility of her. I feel partly responsible for her to begin with. Plus you know as well as I do that if she tries to attack me, I'll have the balls to knock her out. I don't care if she's a girl. If she tries to attack me, I'll attack back."

There was a long pause on the other line, and I finally heard my leader sigh in defeat. "Did Don find any missing persons report matching her description?"

"None what so ever. She must be a street kid or somethin'. She looks to be about sixteen. She had no ID on her. She might've had a bag or somethin' on her before the attack, but those punks probably sold whatever they could."

"Was she the only victim you found in that building?"

"Yeah. That's not to say she's the only one. I'm sure they have other rooms with other girls. Either that or they rape and kill 'em when they get bored."

"I'll have to look more into that." Leo said, more to himself than to me. Typical of Leo, I had given him the address of the Purple Dragons, and he wasn't about to go in without knowin' all the info. It was moments when he made a stupid decision like that, that I truly wondered what Splinter saw in him as a leader.

"Let me know if she wakes up, or if there's any improvement before I get home." Leo said firmly.

I grunted agreement, before hanging up on him. I really hated takin' orders from that "fearless" leader.

Now, it was close to six in the mornin', and this kid hadn't made any signs of movin'. I hadn't left her side. I had to admit, my brother was right when he said that she was cute. It looked like the Dragons had made her up to have their fin with her. Her hair was straightened and sleek, although it was mussed now. It was an auburn color, about chest-length. Her skin was pale beneath the bruises, and I noticed these weird scars lining her face. They weren't revolting in anyway, although they did take away somewhat from her face, but they were more intriguin' than anything. They were cut in weird diagonal lines, criss-crossing across her face, and a couple along her mouth made her look like a stitched up doll of some sort. It was weird. I had never seen any scars set like that.

"What do you think her eyes look like?" My annoying brother asked, leaning over my shoulder.

"I'm sure like any other pair of eyes Mikey." I said irritably. I hadn't slept in two days, which was unnatural, and that was beginning to take affect over my mood.

I felt my brother roll his eyes, clearing thinking of what a moron I was, which was a huge insult considerin' this was _Mikey _I was talkin' to. "I _meant _what color are her eyes do you think?" Mikey asked exasperatedly.

I frowned at him, and then frowned at the girl, and then back at Mike again. "You're a pervert Mike, why not if you go bother someone else?" I snapped, shoving Mike away with the palm of my hand.

"How is it perverted to wanting to know what color her eyes are? Now if I was asking what color her _bra _was that would be a completely different---"

"GET OUT!" I snapped, shoving Mikey hard enough to cause him to stumble backwards against the door.

"Geesh! Curiosity really _must've _killed the cat." Mikey muttered bitterly, huffing out of the room.

I turned my attention back to the girl, feelin' odd about her. I felt extremely responsible for her, but I was also feelin' anxious about wantin' her to open up her eyes. I wanted to know what her voice sounded like, and if she was in any pain or not.

As if I had commanded it, I saw her fingers twitch, and I sat up a little straighter in my seat. Her forehead began to furrow, and I could see her eyelids beginning to flutter.

"C'mon. You're almost there." I whispered. I had basically been talkin' to myself since Don had left me alone with her, and so I didn't feel like a moron for talkin' out loud again.

Slowly, the girl blinked her eyes open, a bright crystal blue I noticed, and flinched against the sudden brightness from the overhead light Don had had on over here.

"Here, let me get that out of your way." I said hurriedly, shoving the lamp off to the left.

The girl looked around, moving her head slowly to the side to look at her surroundings. Her entire body stiffened, and I saw her back arch in alarm.

"Where am I?" She demanded, at the same time I said, "Take it easy."

She eyed me suspiciously, and I knew she couldn't see me very well, due to me shovin' the light over to the other side, so I was mostly in the darkness. I didn't want to have the poor girl go into cardiac arrest upon seeing me when she just woke up. Don said that that could happen…That she could go into shock.

"Where am I?" She repeated again, her voice a little thick, no doubt from the pain medication Don had been givin' to her every two hours.

"You're…In the sewers." I said hesitantly, after all I wasn't about to lie to the poor kid.

The girl raised her eyebrows, and her eyes sparkled with amusement. "The _sewers_? And what, pray tell, am I doing down in the sewers?"

I shifted from foot to foot, feelin' a bit nervous. I was afraid I was goin' to let my patience get the best of me. Leo had always told me I needed more of it, and explainin' myself had never been one of my better qualities.

"_Well_?" The girl demanded, startling me. Geez, she was more impatient than I was.

"I didn't have enough time to get you to a hospital, you would've died on the way. My brothers and I have been tryin' to stop the Purple Dragons, and I intercepted their hidin' place. I would've smashed that guy to a bloody pulp if it wasn't for the fact you were so banged up. My bro's a bit of a doctor, and he was home so I just…Brought you here."

I could see the girl's mouth twitching into a smile. "You live in the sewers? What kind of person in their right mind would live there…Or…Here." She said, looking around again.

Here it comes. I took a deep breath, and said quickly, "I'm not a person. And neither is my family. We're turtles. My father's a rat. We were mutated by this ooze when we were babies, and because of our appearance, we've lived down in the sewers our whole lives. My father knew martial arts from his owner, Yoshi, and so he trained us in the art of ninjitsu. My bros and I kinds protect the city at night with our martial arts skills." I said with some trepidation.

"…Am I in some weird coma having an even more weird dream?" She asked skeptically.

"No. You're not. You're awake. You've been out all night." I grumbled.

To my surprise, she began to laugh. "Wow." She said between chuckles. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh." Yet she began to laugh harder I noticed, "It's just…I couldn't think my life could get any more nuts…No offense." She said quickly, still trying to stifle her giggles.

"None taken." I grumbled, feelin' irritated.

She sighed. "Well then," She shifted her weight. "I suppose I should meet my rescuer. What's your name?" She asked, extending her hand to me.

I was surprised. She had just found out that I was a turtle, and that she wasn't dreamin;, and she actually wanted to _meet _me? Maybe she thought she was dreamin' anyway.

"I'm Raphael." I said gruffly, extending my hand.

She gave me a sly smile, and yanked me forward, pulling my into the light. She studied me carefully, before releasing my hand. "Yep. You're a turtle all right." She said with what sounded like approval.

Now I was just dumbfounded. Was this girl doped up or somethn'? I knew that wasn't the case because Don had checked her bloodstream for that sort of thing and had found her clean.

I leaned forward. "You're not scared?" I asked skeptically.

She chuckled, and touched my shoulder gently. "How can I be scared of you, when I no damn well you saved my life? Unless you're lying, which I doubt." She said, raising an eyebrow, as if daring me to say different.

"No." I said quickly. "No, I'm not lyin'." I said, truly baffled. "It's just…Even knowin' that we saved people's lives, they're still freaked out because of the way I look."

"Then let's get one thing straight," She said seriously, looking me dead in the eyes. "Appearances don't mean shit to me, you got that? I know a lot about a person by how they act, and I'm a pretty good judge of character. You saved my life, and quite frankly, I wouldn't care if you were Frankenstein, because I know for a fact that I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you." She said firmly.

I blinked at her. I couldn't believe this. Never in my life had I encountered someone like her. Her gaze was enough to intimidate me, and I don't get intimidated easily, but it was like when she looked at me, she could see right through me.

"Well…My brother mostly patched ya up." I said stupidly.

"Well then, when I meet him, I'll have to say thank you." She said in a matter-of-fact way.

I frowned. "What's your name anyway?"

She grinned at me. "Patience."

For about the fourth time, I was taken aback. Here Leo was sayin' that I needed patience, and there was someone right in front of me names that. Coincidence? Probably not. In my life, there was no such thing as coincidence.

Patience's P.O.V.

After Raphael and I had made introductions, he left to get his other three brothers, and his father, so that I could introduce myself. Also, it would probably put his brothers' minds at ease to know that I was all right, and that I wasn't still comatose.

Raph soon filed his family into the room, and I found myself grinning from ear to ear at him. He smiled at me uncertainly, and I found myself giggling and blushing. This guy…or turtle…was going to be fun to mess around with, that much was obvious. Still, there was something about him that I was intrigued with. I couldn't say for sure what it was. Maybe it was his whole "tough guy" attitude. I knew plenty of guys that acted tough when really, they were either a bunch of wimps or a bunch of softies. Either way, I thought it was the most adorable thing. I'd have to see how much of a softie Raph was.

"Patience, this is my brother Donatello." Raph said, introducing me to a purple-clad turtle. He was the exact same as Raph, except for the different shade of green skin. I noticed all of his brothers had different skin tones. "He's the brainiac of the family."

I snapped my attention back to Donnie, and I grinned. "You're the guy that patched me up then."

Donnie got bashful, and shuffled his feet. "Yeah, that was me. It was nothing really."

"Nothing?" I asked incredulously. "You save my life, and that's nothing?" I chuckled. "Dude, it's definitely something to me."

Donnie smiled kindly at me. "I'm glad you're all right."

"Hell, so am I." I said with an eager nod.

Raph cleared his throat, and I turned my attention towards him, who was shoving an orange-clad turtle forward, one who was grinning goofily at me may I add. "This here is my youngest brother, Michelangelo. He's kind of the odd turtle out."

"Hey!" Mikey snapped at Raph indignantly. He huffed at his older brother, but turned his attention to me, and immediately, his anger dissipated into a sly smirk. Before I knew it, he was mere inches from my face.

"Sooo….Your name's Patience huh?" Mikey asked me.

"Er…Last time I checked anyway." I said uncertainly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Mikey chuckled. "You've got a sense of humor. That's good. I like a girl with a sense of humor." He leaned back, and studied me carefully. "Hmmm….Now the real question is: What can I call you?" He rubbed his chin, and I watched him, puzzled. Didn't he just say what my name was? Suddenly, Mikey snapped his fingers. "I know! I'll call you Patti!"

My eyes widened, realizing what he was getting at. The little bugger wanted a nickname for me. My eyes narrowed, and I crossed my arms over my chest indignantly. "_Don't _call me Patti." I said firmly.

Mikey seemed baffled, but then he said quickly, "What about Pat?"

"_**No**_**.**" I said firmly.

Mikey clearly looked confused. "Then….What am I supposed to call you?" He asked slowly.

"PATIENCE!" I snapped at him.

Mikey jumped, and backed up from me. "Geez. You're name sure doesn't do you any justice." He muttered.

"Mikey!" Raph hissed.

"What?" Mikey whined.

"Patience. _Just_ Patience." I piped up, causing both Mikey and Raph to turn their attention towards me. "It's a unique name, and I like it. And I won't have _you _abusing my name with some _stupid_ nickname. The name may not suit me, but I like it. If you have a problem with it, take it up with somebody who gives a crap, because I certainly don't. If I gave a crap, you'd be getting a handful of it right about now." I said, annoyed. I hated it when people needed to shorten my name. It was stupid. Was that really necessary? If the nickname wasn't my name, then why the hell would I want to be called that? Honestly. For people who have a mouthful of a name, that's different. Patience is a one-syllable word, it's not that difficult for crying out loud!

Mikey and Raph gaped at me, before Mikey suddenly burst out laughing, pointing at me. "I like her. She's got spunk!" He chuckled, bouncing away.

Raph growled at him in annoyance, and shoved him, causing Mikey to give out a startled, "WAH!"

Before I could utter a comment, Raph had a third turtle in front of me, this one blue-clad. "This is my oldest brother, and the leader of our family: Leonardo." I noticed that Raph said this a bit contemptuously, shooting Leo a withering glare, which Leo didn't notice or chose to ignore. I was very curious about what the story was behind that. Some sibling rivalry perhaps?

Leo bowed before me, startling me. "It is a great honor to meet you Patience." He said humbly. He rose stiffly, and I automatically felt a bit uncomfortable. Leo was extremely formal, and extremely stiff. Not a muscle moved in his face, and I found it a bit unnerving. I began to wonder if he even had a personality or not, because if he didn't, this would be a problem for me. I didn't go for people who had a face, but no personality to accompany it.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." He said, and his gaze penetrated through me, as if he could see inside me.

I gulped, and managed a small smile. "Me too."

"I hope you'll be able to get back to your family soon, I'm sure they must be worried." Leo said, and I could easily read between the lines. He was clearly saying, "Get out of my house as fast as possible because we don't like strangers."

Donnie startled at Leo's words and piped up, "Speaking of that…What's your family's telephone number? I should probably give them an anonymous call and let them know you're all right. No doubt the police are out looking for you."

I noticed Raph give Donnie this strange look, and I knew that there were no police reports of a missing girl. I could be across the ocean right now, sold into prostitution, and my parents wouldn't know it. They probably didn't even know I was gone.

"Yes. We should probably let them know right away." Leo agreed, turning to me expectantly.

"They're dead." I blurted out automatically. I kind of surprised myself, actually. I typically didn't lie about such important matters like that, but I wasn't about to go back to those people. Granted, my escape had ended in me getting raped, but hey, at least I had my mind set on not going back. I was grateful to know that idea hadn't changed.

I saw Leo raise his eye ridge, shooting me a skeptical look. "They're dead?" He repeated.

I nodded. "They died in a drunk driving accident about three months ago. I don't have any immediate family. I'm living on the streets. I can't see myself in a foster home." This technically wasn't a lie…My parents' ideal death was dying in a drunk driving accident…It just hadn't happened yet.

I could tell that Leo was annoyed as he sucked in a deep breath in through his nose. "Donnie? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

I saw Donnie nod quickly, and the two brothers exited the room, no doubt to talk about me.

Raph sighed irritably, and gestured to someone behind Mikey. "And this, is Master Splinter, my father." On cue, a rat stepped out from behind Mikey, and bowed to me as well. Immediately, I realized that Leo _did_ have a personality. He just had the personality of his father.

Sure enough, Splinter had the same proper dialect as Leo did. "I am honored to have your presence in our home, Patience." He said, a slight Japanese accent.

I smiled thinly. "Yeah. You have wonderful sons."

Splinter chuckled. "That I do. Although I have to admit, on occasion I wish that they would behave themselves every once in a while." He shot Raph and Mikey a sharp look, and both shuffled their feet, muttering apologies.

My eyes narrowed, and I bit my tongue back as Splinter smiled kindly at me. "Please, you may stay with us as long as you wish. I understand that children in your condition often need some assistance on getting on the right path, and I just want you to know that my family and I are here to help you in anyway possible."

I don't think I have ever straightened my back so fast in my life. It was amazing I didn't snap a vertebrae out of place.

"The _right path_?" I repeated. "I'm assuming you mean because I live on the streets, I'm therefore a juvenile delinquent." I said, sure that I was understanding him correctly.

Splinter's tail slashed. "I didn't say anything of the sort." He said, trying to remain polite.

"But it's what you meant." I challenged. When he didn't respond, my patience had reached it's highest, and I popped. I decided right then and there that I didn't like Splinter, as awful as that sounded. "Let me explain something to you about juvenile delinquents," I said angrily, wagging a finger at him. "Juvenile delinquents are smart ass punks who think that they can wreak havoc and beat the shit out of an innocent human being and not pay the price. I am _not _one of those people. Just because I live on the street, doesn't mean that I'm a bad person. Sure, I dress eccentric and listen to music about sex, but you know something? That's who I am, and it doesn't make me a delinquent because of that either. You seriously need to brush up your street skills pal, because I can assure you, I'm one of the best people out in that world right now. Maybe if you weren't so narrow-minded you'd see that you hypocrite. How the hell would you feel if I said that _your _family is a bunch of hillbillies for living in the damn sewers? You want to know what you're doing? You're stereotyping, and I _hate _stereotypes."

The whole room was silent. Mikey and Raph were staring at me with gaping mouths, and Splinter looked ready to punch me out, and I didn't care. He deserved it. I _hated _it when people assumed they could insult me in a round-about way and think that I won't figure it out because I'm nothing but a kid. It really pisses me off, especially when others talk about people lesser than them. If a person's situation sucks, or they dress differently from everyone else, they're immediately called out as being a terrible person. News flash: Most of the people you meet who have been through shit and who dress however they want, are usually the nicest people you'll ever meet. Not in all cases, but in most. It's all about what's seeing what's on the inside. I knew that Splinter and his family judged that way, but it didn't really surprise me that one of them had stereotyped…Even if it was an innocent comment. To me, it bothered me, and if something bothers me, I let someone know that they were out of line. If they don't like it, tough cookies.

Splinter bowed to me, and muttered, "I'm sorry for insulting you in any way, I assure you that that was not my attention." He then turned and walked out of the room (smart rat), and I snorted after him, which only pissed him off even further.

I turned my attention back to Raph and Mikey who were still gaping at me.

"What?" I snapped.

"You just…Spoke up to…Splinter?" Mikey said.

"Yeah? What's your point?" I snapped, not about to go off on another rant.

Mikey smiled, and elbowed Raph. "Can we keep her Raph? Huh? Can we? Can we _please_?"

I watched Leo and Raph sparring in the dojo three days later. Donnie had told me that my injuries were fully recovered. My side still hurt, and I had to be careful not to pull any stitches, but other than that, I was good as new.

Well, not completely good, I often woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat from nightmares about my rapists. Raph said that Leo, Mikey, and Donnie were intercepting them, whatever that meant. That had been two days ago…He hadn't said anything since. I wasn't sure if the problem was solved, but if it was or wasn't, Raph didn't seem to want to tell me.

I had to admit, I had had fun over the past couple of days. Despite the fact Mikey had been the one to piss me off on the first day we met, we were all ready best friends. We often blasted obnoxious rap music that made Splinter's whiskers twitch in agitation. If we weren't doing that, we were watching movies like "Dumb and Dumber" or "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." And if we weren't doing _that_, we were mostly annoying everyone else.

Donnie and I had gotten close. While he was checking me, which he did everyday to make sure I wasn't getting any infections from the healing cuts, he'd often explain to me what he was doing. He even let me clean a couple of the less serious cuts with antiseptic. When we weren't doing that, he was showing me some of the work he had done, whether it was stored on his laptop, or just something he had built. Right now, he and I were working on building a toaster together. Donnie was definitely the most quiet out of the bunch, but he was really funny, and he definitely kept me busy when it came to helping him make stuff. You would think for someone that could make toasters, he'd be able to cook. It turned out the Mikey was the chef of the house…Go figure.

As far as Leo was concerned, I tried to stay out of his way. I could tell he was displeased with me being there. He had tried to confront me about staying in a foster home, or with a friend, and I had loudly told him to mind his business. I could tell that he also disapproved of me because of what I had said to Splinter. Clearly, he thought that I didn't have any respect, which wasn't the case: I was just outspoken. I didn't get to speak up in my own house, I might as well speak up anywhere else.

What it all came down to with both Leo and Splinter was the fact that they made me bristle. I didn't like the way they bossed the others around, leaders of the family or not. I didn't like how hard they were, and I didn't like they're showing off. At least, it was showing off to me. Plus, I hated the way they looked at me when I blasted my music, or when I wore a neon green and black striped hoodie with black shorts and black boots. To them, I probably looked like a prostitute, what with the dark eye makeup I always wore. Most of the time I would flop onto the couch with my auburn hair pulled up in a messy bun, and most of the time my clothes consisted of guys' sweatpants and a t-shirt. It's not that I dressed like a whore or a slob, I just preferred comfort over style. Nothing cracked me up more then when I had come down the couch yesterday, wearing a t-shirt with a fan saying, "You suck" to a vacuum, while a vacuum was saying to the fan, "You blow." Leo eventually cracked around lunch and told me to change. I of course, told him "no" in a colorful way.

Getting onto a more positive note, not that pissing off Leo and Splinter isn't funny, but Raphael had definitely captured my attention. I wasn't sure if it was because he was the first one I saw when I opened my eyes, or if it was the fact that I knew he had risked his life to carry me in his arms out of Purple Dragon headquarters. Whatever it was, I was hooked. Often times, he'd come in and keep me company, while I was still in the infirmary that is. He didn't say much, he basically allowed me to tell him about myself. I mostly talked about school and how much people pissed me off. Often, that would get him going, and we'd go on for hours about the stupid things people did on a daily basis. Sometimes I was even able to get a few good stories out of him, often funny, from run-ins he'd had with punks, or with fights that had happened within his own household. Raph definitely kept me entertained, and I felt like I had known him for years.

After I was let out of the infirmary, I would find myself following him around like a duckling following its mother. I would watch in fascination as he would lift weights or twirl his sais. I would flinch when he would go at it with his punching bag, his precious companion I found, and I would often smirk when he would curse out Leo and storm out of the lair, ultimately meaning he won. He was just so strong and…And _manly _with his large biceps and gruff voice, that I couldn't help but be attracted to him. I found myself wondering what he was doing when he went out by himself, and I began to try to pry past his hard shell, and see if there really was a soft side underneath, because I had yet to see it. Sure, Raph would give me a small smile or chuckle, but I hadn't genuinely heard him laugh or smile, and I was determined to see that.

I didn't realize that I would see it sooner than I thought.

Two weeks later…

Raph's P.O.V.

I awoke one morning in a particularly bad mood. It just happens every once in a while: Me waking up on the wrong side. Although to someone like Mikey, he would probably say that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed _every _day.

Anyway, I stumbled out of my room, and glowered darkly down into the living room, where Mikey and Patience were blasting some rap crap that I couldn't stand. By this point, I was used to Mikey's taste in music, but seeing as I wasn't in a good mood, my toleration of it was pretty much zero.

"TURN IT OFF!" I bellowed loudly, startling Patience.

I felt a touch of guilt at startling the poor girl, I still knew she was waking up from nightmares. I didn't have the heart to tell her that we had lost the Purple Dragons' trail. They had relocated, and none of my brothers and I had been able to find the new destination. Leo blamed me for this of course.

Mikey quickly shut off the stereo and I heard him mutter, "Raph's in one of his moods again." He then nimbly hopped over the couch and began to make his way towards the kitchen, steering clear out of my way.

I hopped over the balcony and landed on the first floor, ignoring Patience's crystal blue eyes watching me. I found that her eyes often had me paralyzed. I could barely breathe whenever she looked at me straight in the eyes. I felt as if she could see right through me, and see me for who I really was. Seeing as I wasn't in the mood for that kind of crap, I just casually made my way over to my punching bag and began swinging at it.

I felt Patience's eyes on me for awhile, but I ignored her. When I was finished, I was surprised to not see her leaning over the couch like she usually did. Shrugging to myself, I made my way towards the kitchen for some water.

Exiting the kitchen, glad that Mikey hadn't opened his damn mouth, I decided to go out for an afternoon stroll.

"Where you going Raph?" Patience called from behind me.

She startled me, and I glanced up to see her on the stairs, making her way down.

"Out." I said simply."

She frowned slightly. "Can I come?" She asked, perking up a little.

"No." I said abruptly.

I didn't even look back as she began to protest. With my mood, and my feelings around her, I wasn't sure I could handle bein' alone with her.

Later that night, I was having a hard time sleeping. I really hated when I was in a bad mood that went all the way through the day with no improvement, so that when it came to sleeping I couldn't because I was too riled up with pent up anger over absolutely nothing. Nobody had even pissed me off today, so I was basically up for a stupid reason.

Sighing irritably, I threw back my covers, feeling hot and uncomfortable. I decided to go down to the dojo and go at my punching bag again, hoping I could wear myself out.

I passed by Patience's room on my way down the stairs. I found myself pausing in front of her door. It was a spare room that we used for guests, and ever since she had been in there, I would stop and check on her whenever I woke up or was coming back from patrol.

I heard this sharp intake of breath, and several short breaths. I heard rustling on the other side, and knew that she had no doubt had another nightmare.

I began to raise my fist to knock, and hesitated slightly. I had never gone to her before, although I think she knew that I could hear her. I wasn't sure if she would want anyone right now, or if she would rather be left alone.

I decided to just keep on walking. I wasn't in the mood to deal with it for one, and two, I knew that I would only begin to feel guilty, seeing as we hadn't fixed the Purple Dragon problem.

Sighing heavily, I began to walk by when the door suddenly opened, and a black and red blur came barreling into me. There was yelp, as I swore, grabbing the Patience and pulling her away from me.

"Raph?" She gasped, panting heavily, her blue eyes wild with disorientation and fear. Her eyes darted over me. "You scared the _crap_ out of me!" She snapped, glowering at me. "What the hell were you doing outside my door?" She demanded.

"I was just walking by to go downstairs. I couldn't sleep." I muttered, feeling guilty. "Sorry. I didn't think you were comin' out or nothin'."

She huffed at me, and crossed her arms over her chest, looking at the floor. I could hear her breathing abnormally, and I could tell that she was pissed, but I knew there was something else bugging her.

"…Are you okay?" I asked hesitantly.

"No!" She snapped. Wiping at her eyes with her arm. "I'm not."

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. She was cryin', wonderful. Like I knew what to do when a girl cried.

"…Do you…Want to talk about it?" I asked again, feeling like a total idiot.

"Does it _look like _I want to talk about it?" She snapped at me, and I knew she didn't want an answer. She sighed, and ran her fingers through her auburn hair. "I'm sorry." She said, covering her eyes with her hands. "I know your family doesn't want me here. I know you want me gone, and I'm getting in your way. Now you have to deal with my petty girlish problems. I should just leave." She said, her shoulders shaking violently. "I'm only causing problems for everyone."

I honestly didn't know why she was sayin' any of these things, especially to me. I didn't even know why she felt that way in the first place. I knew that Splinter and Leo were annoyed with her a lot, but I didn't think they wanted her to get out, especially knowin' she had nowhere to go. Nothin' would pain them more if she got hurt, and they could've stopped it. Maybe she felt that way from her nightmare, or maybe she felt that way because she was goin' through girl stuff or somethin'. I knew from bein' friends with April that girls said all sorts of crazy shit when they were hormonal.

So on instinct, when she turned to leave, I panicked. I didn't want her to leave, especially if she had nowhere else to go. So, I grabbed her elbow and said, "Wait! Don't leave." I said it quietly, so quiet, I kinda surprised myself.

I must've surprised Patience too, because she turned to me, startled. I began to open my mouth to say something, but I found that my vocal chords weren't workin' right. I released her elbow, my face flushing, knowing how awkward that felt. And to my surprise, she threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist, her face buried in my plastron.

I swear to God, she must've been a real mess to do that to me. She hadn't touched anyone except to high five or jokingly punch Mike. She had never once shown any signs of affection besides that, and again, I didn't know why the hell she was doin' this to _me_.

"Thank you." She said, her voice muffled from her face being buried in my plastron.

I didn't know what she was thankin' me for, I hadn't done nothin', so I wasn't sure what to say. All I could do, was put one arm awkwardly around her shoulders and just hope for the best. When she didn't shrug me off, I knew I had done right for once.

I seriously don't get girls.

Patience's P.O.V.

The following day, I tried to keep a safe distance from Raphael. I needed some time to think about what had happened last night. I was just such an emotional mess from my nightmare, that I had done something rash with Raph, and now I just needed to figure out what the hell it all meant.

I mean, how could I even think of having any feelings towards Raph? He was mutant turtle. It was probably wrong and perverted and God knows what else for me to even think of him as a boyfriend or something. Like, inter-species dating? Are you kidding me?

But still, I couldn't help the way I felt. As far as I was concerned, Raph and his family _were _human beings, they just didn't look like them. I was intrigued with him, and last night, I had seen his soft side. I had finally pried open that hard shell and saw the softness that was there, and I wanted to see more of it.

The problem was: Was he even interested?

Around mid-afternoon, Leo and Raph got into a heated argument. I wasn't in the room when they had started going at it. I had come down the stairs just as Raph shouted,

"FINE!" And began storming towards the door.

"Hey Raph!" I called, making him pause, he whirled on me, and I saw his left temple throbbing. "Where ya goin'?" I asked, not at all intimidated by him, I knew who he really was, and I had seen far worse.

Raph's eyes narrowed. "Out." He growled, clearly pissed off at me for asking such a dumb ass question.

"Can I come with you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows, daring him to say no.

I saw Raph's face seem startled, and his eyes narrowed. He was clearly going to say no again. But all of a sudden, out eyes locked, and I saw his mouth shut.

He turned away from me, his fists shaking.

Finally, without turning to look at me, he said, "Fine, as long as you'll shut up about askin' me."

I don't know who was more surprised, me or his brothers, but I soon found myself grinning, and followed him out of the lair.

I was in.

I followed directly on Raph's heels, determined not to lose him. I was so determined in fact, that I didn't notice him stop, and I ended up walking into him.

"Sorry." I said quickly, my face flushing.

Raph just shot me an amused glance. "Why do you always have to be right on my tail? Even at home, all you do is follow me around."

I shrugged sheepishly. "You're interesting?"

Raph only shook his head and continued on his way, as I mentally kicked myself for coming off as such an idiot.

After what seemed like forever, we stopped on top of a building that was so high, it was swaying in the light spring breeze.

I frowned, approaching Raph as he leaned against the ledge. "Where are we?" I asked curiously. Despite the fact that this building was swaying, I didn't see it as any different from the rest of the rooftops we had been on.

Raph cocked his head towards the edge. "Come look." He said. I approached the edge, and gasped in awe as Times Square was displayed below my feet, it's bright lights captivating.

"Cool, huh?" Raph asked, and I tried to ignore how his arm was touching mine. "This is where I come to think all the time." He said quietly.

"It's beautiful." I breathed.

I felt him staring at me, his eyes boring into the side of my head. What was the matter now? Did I have something disgusting in my hair? A gigantic zit on my nose? What was he so fixated on?!

"What?" I asked, trying to come off as nonchalant.

Raph shook his head and turned his attention back to Times Square. "Nothin'. You're just somethin' else is all."

My eyebrows shot up. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, feeling defensive.

"Nothin'." Raph said quickly, raising his hands in defense. "It's just…" He hesitated.

"What?" I demanded.

"It's just…I don't get you. I mean, most girls your age would freak out if they saw someone like me or my family. Yet, you didn't even flinch. You just accepted us. Not that I'm complainin' or nothin', but it sure makes a guy like me wonder."

I bit my bottom lip, my shoulders sagging against the building. I knew it would come to this. I knew one of them would eventually get curious and ask why I wasn't surprised by their appearance. I sighed, and responded hesitantly,

"…When I was seven, I was involved in a car accident. My mom had been out drinking as usual, and I was locked inside her car while she partied at a bar. When she came out, she was plastered. I was only seven, so I didn't know she shouldn't have been driving home.

She started heading home, and she was going way too fast. I tried to tell her to slow down, but she wouldn't listen to me. There was a truck that had stopped short in front of us. I knew we weren't going to stop in time. I screamed for my mom to stop, and she slammed on the brakes. But…She didn't stop early enough.

We crashed headfirst into the right back bumper of the truck. Our car flipped a couple of times, as one of the spokes on the back of the truck ripped off the roof of our car. My mom was in a coma for three weeks, had severe head trauma, and had a broken arm. It was her seatbelt that had kept both of us alive. After some time, you wouldn't have even known my mom had been in a car accident, except for the fact that her memory and her speech isn't exactly what it used to be.

I was a different story. The spoke had rammed through the center of the roof, and as our car was sliding, it sliced my face. I was in the middle seat, and as the car flipped, the safety belt came undone. It must not have been fastened hard enough, and thank God it came undone after the car flipped for the final time. But I was thrown against the window, which was all ready shattered, and cut up my face and my head.

I was in the hospital with severe head trauma and a concussion. The doctors had to shave off my hair in order to stitch up all of the lacerations on my face, and to also do some surgery to make sure I wouldn't have severe brain damage or nothing. I was extremely lucky to be alive, but I was unlucky enough to have a reminder of that car accident for the rest of my life. I haven't even stepped foot in a car since then.

"The bottom line is that the scars from my face, and me being bald caused me to be a huge outsider in my school. Kids were afraid to come near me. They called me ugly and scary and all sorts of other names that a typical seven-year-old would call a kid looking like I did. It was through that experience that I learned not to judge others based on appearance. No matter how bad a person may look, I have no right to judge them based solely on that. I try to judge people by their personality and their actions, because it's through that that I can really see what kind of a person you really are. Appearances don't mean nothing to me, it's in the inside that counts for me."

Raph was silent for a long time, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I had never told that to anyone, not even Lindsey, my best friend. It wasn't that it was hard for me to talk about. It was just that I was afraid that people might treat me different if they knew something like that.

"…Okay, then ansa me this," He asked slowly. "How can your mom be dead and alive at the same time?"

I frowned at him. "Excuse me?" I asked, confused.

"You told us," Raph said slowly. "That your parents were dead, but now you're sayin' that your mom's fine 'cept for her memory and her speech. Which is it?"

I paled, I could actually _feel _myself turning white. I couldn't believe this. I had just revealed a huge chunk of my life to him, and I had completely ruined the moment by forgetting about my stupid lie!

I cleared my throat, and shifted uncomfortably. "Okay, well I might've sort of lied about that. But that's it, I swear!" I said quickly.

Raph raised an eye ridge at me, and I was so terrified that I was going to lose everything right there, that I immediately opened my mouth and blurted,

"Both of my parents are very much alive. I had decided in school that I was going to run away, and it was that day that I had been taken by the Purple Dragons." I took a deep breath and continued, "I lied to Leo and your family because I knew you would send me back to them, and I _can't _go back to them! I _can't!_ You have no idea what it's like! My dad's never home, he's always traveling on business, and my mom's always accusing him of seeing another woman so she always gets drunk. Then she takes her anger out on me because I'm the kid, and it makes perfect sense for her to take her anger out on her own flesh and blood _of course_!" I said sarcastically. "And then when my dad gets home _he _immediately hits the booze, and then my mom starts screaming at him about how much he doesn't care, and then he starts screaming at her to shut up, and then they start throwing things at each other. But then they decide that they _can't _hit each other because they still _care _about each other, so instead they hit the next best thing: _Me_.

And I know I shouldn't have lied because your family's huge on trust, and even _I _hate liars, but come on! Would you guys really have believed me? Because I know plenty of people who would think I was just lying for attention or some other crap, which is complete _bullshit _might I add! I mean, my parents always did that to me from as far as I can remember. And it pisses me off because _apparently_ they named me Patience because they wanted a reminder to be patient with children because they were young when they had me. Did _that _work? NO! Of course it didn't! Because they're evil little cretins who never should've had a kind in the first place! And because I'm a _nice _person, some greater power above decides to screw me by having me put up with the parents from hell, a.k.a Mommy and Daddy Dearest, because that's just the way my life works! So sor-RY if I decided to run away and got myself raped, but until you have lived in that house, you have NO RIGHT to tell me to go back!" I shouted at him, breathing heavily.

Raph began to chuckle, and then slowly built himself up to loud guffaws. Now I was dumbfounded. I swear, I would never understand men.

"What is it now?!" I exploded, pretty much losing it.

Raph snickered. "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at your situation it's just…Your face." He began to giggle again, doubled over laughing. "You should've seen it! It was turnin' purple, you were getting so uptight!" He raised his head to look at me, and seemed to sober up a little and said as calmly as he could, "Believe me Patience, my family doesn't judge by appearances either. Nor do we judge you for your background, and _nor _do we immediately take you for a liar if you tell us a story like the one you just told me. We would've believed ya, and we would've worked somethin' else out."

I began to open my mouth to protest, when Raph cut me off.

"And that somethin' else wouldn't be foster parenting or an orphanage eitha."

I sighed, and felt my face heating up. "Guess I went too far didn't I?"

Raph snorted. "You mean with that overreaction of yours? Yeah. I'd say it was a _bit _over the top…In fact, you reminded me of myself with how mad you were getting."

A flicker of a smile crossed my face. "I'm not sure if I should take that as an insult or not."

Raph shrugged. "You have a temper like me, and believe me, having one so bad can suck big time." He raised an eye ridge at me, leaning his shell against the ledge. "Funny, Leo was tellin' me that if I wanted to control my temper, I needed to get some patience. I find it ironic that you show up with the name Patience, and my temper's not nearly as bad compared to yours."

I couldn't help myself. I laughed. "I guess that's a good thing then." I said between giggles.

Raph smirked. "Ready to head back?" He asked.

My laughter faded, and I grew serious. "Are you going to tell Leo about my parents?"

Raph sighed. "Unfortunately, yeah. I hafta. He's my big brother, and he's the leader. He needs to know these things. Somethin' tells me he'll be a lot more understandin' of your situation if I tell 'im what's really goin' on with you."

I bit my bottom lip. "But what am I supposed to say if he asks me about where I want to live?"

Raph leaned forward, so that he was practically nose to nose with me. "What do you want?"

"To be with you." I blurted. My eyes widened and I quickly said, "I mean, to _live _with you…Er…No! I don't mean that either! I mean living in the same _home _as you. I mean, I can't really stand your father but…"

But I never got to finish my sentence, because Raph kissed me, right there on the rooftop.

Raph's P.O.V.

I had no idea what the hell I was doin'. I swear, my body had a mind all of it's own. I knew that doing this could probably be considered wrong. After all, Patience and I were of an entirely different _species _for cryin' out loud! But…There was somethin' about Patience that just made me feel all…Different.

Yeah I know, I'm not a poet, but it's true. Patience made me feel like…Like I was a better turtle. Hell, I knew I wasn't a good person, all things considered. My temper was off the charts, and I often disappointed my family because of it. But when I was around Patience, I felt…Warm. I felt like I was just a regular person…A human. And next to Patience, I felt like I could anything and be the best person that I could be.

I wasn't going to lie…I had been attracted to her from the moment she opened her eyes. Her crystal blue eyes had taken my breath away. And as the days past, I began to pay closer attention to her. By the end of the three weeks, I felt like I all ready knew a lot about her.

For one, she couldn't sit still when she was listenin' to music. She always had to dance to it, or bop her head to the beat. Her laughter was contagious, and it was almost like music to my ears when she would laugh at Mike's shenanigans. She loved biology, but she didn't care for chemistry, and she flat out hated math. I knew that her favorite breakfast was having her all chocolate pop tarts, and that she was addicted to chocolate milk, never drinkin' the plain kind. She always had to have her foods not touchin', or else she wouldn't touch it. Whenever she gets nervous, she blushes and begins fiddlin' with her hair. When she gets embarrassed, she touches her scars. Finally, I knew that she always needed to be wrapped up in tons of blankets in order to fall asleep.

I knew what my brothers would think. Besides our temper, we had nothin' in common. She was a sixteen-year-old high school student and I was an eighteen-year-old mutant turtle who couldn't be out in the sunshine. I could tell that Patience liked the outdoors, and I knew that if we went anywhere, it would kill her to not be able to go outside in the sunshine with me. We'd have to keep our dates strictly at night, and I had no idea if that would happen or not. Then there was the problem of her not bein' able to introduce me to her friends or bring me with her to school dances and functions, so really, why the hell was I bein' such an idiot by kissin' her?

The answer: I don't have a flippin' clue. She was just so adorable, and I just _had _to do somethin'. She actually _accepted _me for who I was…How often would I meet a girl like that? She was special, and I didn't want her to slip through my fingers.

As I pulled away from the kiss, I looked into Patience's blue eyes, glazed over all dreamy-like, and I felt reassured. Maybe I hadn't done anythin' wrong after all. Maybe this could work…Not that I was getting' my hopes up or nothin'.

Patience's lips curled into a devilish grin, and I leaned forward to kiss her again. I was taken aback when she lightly pushed me back with her fingertips.

"Not on a first date tough guy." Patience said, winking at me as she brushed past me.

"Huh?" I asked, completely dumbfounded.

Patience turned to me, her auburn hair flipping over her shoulder. "If you really want to make this work, you're gonna have to work for me." She said with a sly grin. "Let's go home then!" She called over her shoulder.

I gaped at her, completely stunned. Had she…Had she just…Blown me off? And for what? To do some more flirtin'? To feel me out some more? Or just to make a poor guy like me sweat?

Whatever it was, I liked her spunk. Although as I followed after her, I couldn't help thinkin' to myself:

"I will never understand women."

THE END

**AN: "A Story About Patience" is meant to be turned into a series of one-shots, but ONLY if you readers out there liked this and want it to be turned into a series. In order to make you happy, I need feedback through reviews. If you don't review, I can't tell if you want the series or not, and therefore won't post it. OR, I'll post it anyway and then wait for complaints about why I posted a second one-shot. If you guys like this idea, please review and let me know. If enough of you like the story idea, look for the next one-shot "Dealing with Patience". But remember: You won't see it if you don't review!!!!**


End file.
